ALONG NEBRASKA PIONEER
TRAILS

Many of
Nebraska's highways today, including Interstate 80, are on or near
routes used over 100 years ago by explorers, fur traders, covered
wagon pioneers, and many others whose courage and labor laid the
foundations for the American West. Nebraska has long been an
important link in America's route to the West, and its pioneer
trails indeed are "highways to history." A knowledge of these
trails, which intertwine Nebraska with the history of the westward
movement, will enliven one's travels in the state. The principal
pioneer trails are outlined briefly in this leaflet. Additional
sources of more detailed information are found in the
bibliography.

THE MISSOURI RIVER - WATERWAY OF
EXPLORATION AND COMMERCE

When Lewis and
Clark, the first Americans to explore the American West, set out
on their epochal journey in the spring of 1804, they pointed their
keelboats up the Missouri. For eight weeks they followed
Nebraska's eastern border, the Missouri River, on their outward
journey to the Pacific. At Council Bluff (not Council Bluffs,
Iowa) near the present town of Fort Calhoun, they held an
important council with the Oto and Missouri Indians. The river was
their highway, but many of their camps were made in what is now
Nebraska, and their journals contain the best available accounts
of early Nebraska.

Americans were quick to
take advantage of the new opportunities for trade which abounded
in the vast area contained in the Lousiana Purchase. On their
return trip from the Pacific coast in 1806, Lewis and Clark met
eleven separate parties of traders and trappers coming up the
Missouri River. Spanish explorers were the first white men known
to have penetrated the central plains, and as late as 1800, just
prior to the expedition of Lt. Zebulon Pike, they left a Spanish
flag at the Pawnee village in Webster County. Lt. Pike's
expedition was the first to cross the central area of the plains
on a route south of the Republican River, and his reports called
the land a vast desert.

In 1820 an expedition
by Army Engineer Major Stephen H. Long and a scientific party of
20 men followed the Platte River through Nebraska. Their reports
confirmed earlier findings of Pike that the area was considered a
desert wasteland. Long reported that Nebraska was not suited for
cultivation or for people who depended upon agriculture for a
living. The expedition's map-maker marked the area as "The Great
Desert," and this was noted on maps of the region until
1870.

In 1807, Manuel Lisa
followed the Missouri on the first of his many fur-trading
expeditions, and by 1813 he had established permanent headquarters
near present-day Omaha. In 1811, Wilson Price and his party,
representing John Jacob Astor, traveled the Missouri River bound
for Astoria, located at the mouth of the Columbia River on the far
Pacific.

Cantonment Missouri,
north of present-day Omaha, was established in 1819 to provide
protection for the fur trade. It was the first American military
post west of the Missouri. In 1820 this fort was relocated on the
original Council Bluff of Lewis and Clark, and the name was
changed to Fort Atkinson. The Fort continued in operation until
June, 1827, when it was abandoned because the War Department felt
that it was no longer needed to protect the fur trade.

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The keelboat was
the vessel commonly used by the early fur traders. It was a long
craft, propelled by sails, oars, or a towline from the shore.
These boats went up the river in the spring laden with merchandise
to trade with the Indians, and returned in the fall carrying
valuable cargoes of furs. Later the keelboats were replaced by
steamboats. The Nebraska Indian tribes were important in the fur
trade, and as early as 1810 a fur trading post was built in the
vicinity of Omaha. Later Bellevue became one of the most important
trading posts in the West. Peter A. Sarpy, associated with the
American Fur Company, lived there and records show that he was a
leading citizen of the community in territorial days.

The first steamboat
ascending the Missouri to a point five miles south of the Council
Bluff was Major Stephen H. Long's "Western Engineer" in 1819.
After the creation of Nebraska Territory in 1854, Missouri River
steamboats brought hundreds of settlers to the new land. They also
carried vast quantities of freight to the new Nebraska communities
of Rulo, St. Stephens, Brownville, Nebraska City, Wyoming,
Plattsmouth, Bellevue, Omaha, Ft. Calhoun, DeSoto, Decatur, and
Dakota City. Later these same boats carried the products of
Nebraska to markets downstream. Freighters transferred supplies to
heavy-duty overland wagons and then continued their journey across
the plains to settlements farther west. Many emigrants arrived in
Nebraska via Missouri River steamboats, and crossed the plains by
covered wagons.

THE PLATTE VALLEY-AMERICA'S GREAT
ROAD WEST

The Platte River,
like the Missouri, was first used by fur traders. From 1804 until
1812, the only known route to the Pacific Northwest followed the
Missouri River. In 1812, Robert Stuart headed east from Astoria,
crossed the Rocky Mountains at South Pass, and followed the Platte
Valley to the Missouri. During the 1820's, William H. Ashley
pioneered the use of the Platte River route to and from the rich
trapping grounds in the Rocky Mountains. However, wagons and pack
trains soon replaced the boats, for the Platte was not navigable.
Even those who tried to float boats of the shallowest draft on its
broad waters were unsuccessful. The Platte Valley provided one of
the world's most magnificent natural highways, and on this road
America literally moved west.

Occasionally during the
1830's, missionaries attached themselves to the fur caravans for
protection on the long trek across the plains and mountains. These
men included Jason Lee, Samuel Parker, and Dr. Marcus Whitman, who
were the vanguard of settlement in Oregon. In 1842, Lt. John C.
Fremont explored the Platte Valley-South Pass route west and wrote
a report, widely circulated in the East, which praised the route's
advantages as a way to Oregon. After Fremont's journey, the trail
was no longer just the trappers' route but rapidly became the main
highway for thousands of emigrants.

However, even before
Fremont's trip, emigrants bound for the Pacific had ventured out
over the plains. A small group of home seekers had gone overland
to Oregon in 1841, followed by another small colony in 1842. In
1843, a thousand covered-wagon pioneers made their way to Oregon,
and a two-decade massive migration west was begun. The pioneer
band of Mormons, fleeing persecution in Illinois, were led by
Brigham Young through the Platte Valley on their way to a new Zion
in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in 1847. Like the earlier
Oregon pioneers, they were followed by thousands in the years to
come.

Two of the most
numerous cross-country migrations occurred in 1849 and
1850,

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when gold was discovered in
California, and later, in 1858, when it was announced that gold
had been found in Colorado. Some of the earlier westward-bound
pioneers had turned off the trail to go to California rather than
Oregon, but it was not until the discovery of gold that men went
there in great numbers. Estimates vary, but at least 25,000, and
perhaps as many as 50,000, gold seekers trekked through the Platte
Valley in 1849 and 1850, all bound for California. The number
traveling the Platte route primarily to the Colorado gold fields
in 1859-1860 is estimated to be 45,000.

The United States
government established military posts along the trail during the
1840's to provide protection for the overland travelers. Fort
Kearny was built in 1846 on the Missouri River, at the mouth of
Table Creek (present-day Nebraska City). Soon the army discovered
that this location was outside the main stream of overland travel,
and in 1848 they moved Fort Kearny to a new location at the
southern-most point of the big bend in the Platte. For more than
two decades this fort provided assistance and protection to
overland travelers, and was one of the most important centers
along the trail. Part of the original military reservation is now
Fort Kearny State Park. Farther west, the government purchased
Fort Laramie from the American Fur Company in 1849, and turned it
into a military establishment. An important stopping place for
travelers, it was the army's principal field headquarters during
the time of Indian troubles. It is now a National Historic
Site.

The military posts in
the West and the communities which developed in the Rocky
Mountains required large quantities of goods from the east. Prior
to the coming of the railroad, the only means of getting these
supplies across the plains was by wagon. Subsequently, from the
1840's through the 1860's large overland freighting companies were
developed. Freight arrived via the Missouri River steamboats at
Independence, Atchison, Leavenworth, St. Joseph, Nebraska City,
and Omaha, and then was transferred to heavy-duty wagons which
traveled across the Platte Valley to the mountains. The freight
wagons, drawn by as many as twelve oxen, carried loads varying
from three to five tons at speeds of about two miles per hour - a
far slower pace than our modern trucks which follow Interstate 80
today. Stage coaches filled the demand for "fast" service. The
overland stage hauled passengers, express, and mail through the
Platte Valley. The schedule, which at first took thirty-eight days
from the Missouri River to California, later was shortened to
nineteen days.

The Pony Express was
the most dramatic of all the early attempts to improve
communication between East and West. In operation for only a short
time, from April 1860 through October 1861, its seemingly tireless
young riders sped across the plains and mountains on a
round-the-clock basis, in fair weather and foul, on a ten-day trip
to the coast. The Express was a tremendously expensive venture,
and it was impossible to carry enough mail in saddlebags to pay
the vast outlay for horses, riders, and stations required to
maintain the service. The operation almost brought financial ruin
to the great freighting firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, who
initiated the venture.

The transcontinental
telegraph reached Omaha in 1860. In October, 1861, it was joined
at Salt Lake City to a line being built from California. After the nation was spanned by telegraph, there was no longer a
need for the Pony Express, and it was discontinued.

The final chapter in
the great drama of overland migration through the Platte Valley
was the construction of the transcontinental railroad. In 1865 the
Union Pacific, which had been chartered by Congress in 1862, began
building west from Omaha.

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By 1866 trains were running as far west as Kearney, and by the end of 1867 the rails had
been laid to the Nebraska-Wyoming line. On May 10, 1869 at
Promontory Point, Utah, the nation was united by rails when the
Union Pacific rails joined those of the Central Pacific, a line
built east from Sacramento. The Platte Valley continued to be the
major route west because of the railroad, it is still considered
the main corridor of commerce between the East and the
West.

THE PLATTE VALLEY
TRAILS

OREGON-CALIFORNIA
TRAIL. This trail was the best-known route through the Platte
Valley. Originating at Independence, Missouri, it crossed the
northeastern corner of Kansas and entered Nebraska at the line
between Gage and Jefferson counties. Then it followed the Little
Blue valley across Jefferson, Thayer, Nuckolls, Clay, and Adams
counties and joined the Platte River near the head of the "Grand
Island" in Hall county. At this point it continued west along the
south side of the Platte River to a site in Keith County, where
the trail crossed the South Platte River. Crossing the point of
land between the forks of the river, it continued along the south
side of the North Platte into Wyoming.

There were many
alternate routes determined by the conditions of the trail, such
as caused by the seasons and by the availability of grass. The
South Platte was forded at numerous points, from as far east as
the forks, which was near Fort McPherson, to as far west as
Julesburg, Colorado. An important variation, particularly for the
overland freight wagons, which often used Nebraska City as an
eastern terminal, was the so-called "Nebraska City-Fort Kearny
Cut-Off." This road, laid out and improved during the
1860's, ran almost due west from Nebraska
City to the Platte River in Hall County. Prior to the opening of
this road, freighters from Nebraska City had to use the more
round-about Ox-Bow Trail, which went northwest from Nebraska City,
crossed Salt Creek at Ashland, and joined the Platte near the
present town of Cedar Bluffs.

Early travelers eagerly
watched for the famous landmarks along the trail. Many of these
sites are still visible today, and most of them have been
appropriately marked. The best-known sites in Nebraska were Rock
Creek Crossing in Jefferson County; Thirty-two Mile Creek in Adams
County; Fort Kearny in Kearney County; Cottonwood Springs, Fort
McPherson, Sioux Lookout, and O'Fallon's Bluff, all in Lincoln
County; California Crossing in Keith County, and Ash Hollow in
Garden County. In places along the trail, the old ruts are still
visible, particularly at Scott's Bluff, Ash Hollow, and Fort
McPherson.

Today Fort Kearny is a
state historical park; Fort McPherson, a national cemetery;
Scott's Bluff, a national monument; and Chimney Rock, a national
historic site owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society. At
Nebraska City you will find Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, and
not far from the trail in Gage County is the Homestead National
Monument of America, the site of the first homestead in the United
States.

MORMON TRAIL.
When Brigham Young, in the spring of 1847, led the pioneer band of
Mormons west from Winter Quarters just north of Omaha, he decided
to avoid the beaten path. Having been persecuted and driven from
their former communities, the Mormons preferred to travel alone.
Instead of following the Platte on the south side, their trail
went from near Omaha to Fremont, and from there followed the
Platte along its north bank across Nebraska. The most noted spot
on this trail is the Mormon Cemetery. Located at Florence, now
incorporated into Omaha, the Cemetery con-

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tains the graves of many emigrants
who died at Winter Quarters during their 1846-1847 sojourn, the
victims of hunger, hardship, and disease.

OX-BOW TRAIL.
Starting from Nebraska City, the Ox-Bow Trail, also called the
Fort Kearny and Nebraska City Road, headed northwest and crossed
Salt Creek near present-day Ashland, followed Wahoo Creek to a
point near present-day Cedar Bluffs in Saunders County, and then
continued westward on the south side of the Platte River. Eight
miles east of Fort Kearny, the Ox-Bow Trail joined the old Oregon
Trail from Independence, Missouri. It was 250 miles from Nebraska
City to Fort Kearny by this "ox-bow" route.

Advantages of this
route were the rock-bottom ford across Salt Creek at Ashland and
the plentiful supply of water and wood. Also, those who followed
the Platte felt more secure on a well-traveled route. However, the
eastern Platte valley with its sand and its swampy areas was
impassable when wet, and this, coupled with the longer roundabout
route, caused Alexander Majors of the Russell, Majors, and Waddell
Freighting Company to have surveyed from Nebraska City to Fort
Kearny, a more direct route, which became known as the Nebraska
City-Fort Kearny Cut-off.

NEBRASKA CITY-FORT
KEARNY CUT-OFF. The trail began at Nebraska City and crossed
Otoe, Lancaster, Seward, York, Hamilton, Adams, and Hall Counties
before joining the Ox-Bow trail a few miles east of Fort Kearny,
located on the Platte River in Kearney County.

Factors in locating
this trail were both historical and geographical. Nebraska City
was the location of Old Fort Kearny at Table Creek in present-day
Otoe County. The freighting company of Russell, Majors, and
Waddell had selected Nebraska City as their terminal, and had
hauled freight over the Ox-Bow Trail, which crossed Salt Creek at
present-day Ashland, and then followed the Platte River to Fort
Kearny. As early as 1849, travelers' journals described several
different routes from Nebraska City to Fort Kearny; however, all
had one aim: to get their wagons into the broad Platte valley as
soon as possible.

Hoping to find a
shorter, easier route, Alexander Majors hired a surveyor in 1860.
Geographically speaking, the exploring expedition found an ideal
route. In addition to firm roadbeds and easy grades and stream
crossings, there was a plentiful supply of wood and water. This
more direct route, laid out in 1860 and 1861, became the main
highway between Nebraska City and Fort Kearny, and cut the
distance to Fort Kearny by 75 miles, as compared to the Ox-Bow
Trail.

After 1860, most
emigrants and freighters starting out from Nebraska City used the
new cut- off. Later this trail became known as the "Steam Wagon
Road," for it was from Nebraska City in 1862 that "General" Joseph
R. Brown began his unsuccessful attempt to drive his steam wagon
to Denver and the Colorado mines. A few miles west of Nebraska
City the steam wagon broke down and Brown's plan eventually was
abandoned.

Because the route was
in nearly a straight line, the trail was often said to be an
air-line route. Nebraska City newspapers, keeping the trail in the
public eye through editorials and news articles, frequently called
the cut-off the "Great Central Airline Route."

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OTHER TRAILS

SIDNEY-BLACK
HILLS TRAIL. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills (1874)
precipitated a great rush to that region. Many goldseekers rode
the Union Pacific westward to Sidney, and then struck off to the
north through Cheyenne, Morrill, Box Butte, and Dawes counties to
establish what became known as the Sidney-Black Hills Trail. It
became a great freighting road, as vast quantities of freight were
hauled from the railroad at Sidney via heavy-duty wagons to the
mining camps of the Black Hills. Stage coaches also operated here,
and on their return trips south frequently carried valuable
cargoes of gold. Business was so great that H. T. Clarke of
Bellevue built a bridge across the North Platte near the present
city of Bridgeport. A masterpiece of solid construction, the
bridge was a sixty-one span truss, two-thousand feet long, built
of sturdy timbers. For twenty-five years it withstood heavy loads,
ice, and floods. An important stop on this trail was near Fort
Robinson.

NIOBRARA TRAIL
This rather unknown trail, also called Sawyers Trail, was surveyed
by James A. Sawyers and his party in 1865. Beginning at the mouth
of the Niobrara River, the trail followed the river for about 300
miles, then headed northwest across the White River and into
present day Wyoming. Continuing northwest, it eventually joined
the Bozeman Trail and terminated at Virginia City in presesnt
(sic) day Montana, over 1,000 miles from the Niobrara.

The Niobrara Trail did
not have extensive use because it was too far north of the main
emigration route. It was situated in a more arid country than the
Oregon Trail and the government did not fortify the route.
However, the Niobrara Trail later became an alternate route to the
Black Hills, and was joined from the south by a trail coming up
the Elkhorn Valley.

TEXAS-OGALLALA
TRAIL. Cattle herds, rather than people, made this trail
famous in Nebraska history. From 1875 to 1884, Ogallala -
Nebraska's Cowboy Capital was the terminal of cattle drives north
from Texas. From June to August, the sleepy tank-town on the Union Pacific hummed with activity. Here the cattle herds
were sold to Nebraska and Wyoming ranchers for winter pasturing. A
year or two later these same herds were rounded up and shipped
east for marketing. When the route north became settled by
homesteaders, trail drives were pushed further west and finally
were discontinued. The trail entered Nebraska in Hitchcock County,
crossed through the corners of Hayes and Chase counties, divided
Perkins County, and terminated at Ogallala.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER
READING

BOOKS

Ackerman, Louise M. (ed.) Historical
Markers in Nebraska, National Daughters of the American
Revolution
in
Nebraska, 1951. (Data on historical markers in Nebraska arranged
by counties.)

Olson, James C. History of
Nebraska. Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1966. (Relates the trails
to the overall
history
of the state.)

Root, Frank A. and William E. Connelley.
The Overland Stage to California. 1950. (The history of the
Pony
Express
and stage lines following the trail across Nebraska.)

Sheldon, A. E. Manuscript, Nebraska State
Historical Society Library.

Sheldon, A. E. Nebraska, Old and
New.

Steward, George R. The California
Trail, 1962. (Overland trails in American history.)

MAGAZINES

Nebraska History. Nebraska State
Historical Society, Box 82554, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. (A
quarterly
journal devoted to
the history of Nebraska.) Back issues if not available in local
library may be
purchased
at $3.00 per copy.